“Leafless Greenery” — an Oxymoron or ... !!!!

 

People love greenery ! – Trees with green leaves attract !  -  “Leafless Greenery”  — an Oxymoron – is that possible … perhaps everything with AI edit – here is a photo of a barren tree that was too attractive, then processed it through with couple of Parakeets group photos .. ..   Abscission is a new word for those of us who studied Science in Tamil medium..

Abscission (from Latin ab- 'away' and scindere 'to cut') is the shedding of various parts of an organism, such as a plant dropping a leaf, fruit, flower, or seed. In zoology, abscission is the intentional shedding of a body part, such as the shedding of a claw, husk, or the autotomy of a tail to evade a predator. In mycology, it is the liberation of a fungal spore. In cell biology, abscission refers to the separation of two daughter cells at the completion of cytokinesis.

In temperate countries, in Autumn season – trees shed leaves.   The shedding of leaves itself is called abscission. In Chennai’s tropical climate, however, trees may shed leaves during the dry season or before summer—not necessarily during a distinct autumn. Such trees are called deciduous trees. Trees lose their leaves mainly to conserve water and survive an unfavourable season.

Trees do not necessarily lose their leaves because they are dying; sometimes, shedding is Nature’s strategy for survival and renewal.  When trees lose their leaves, they do not always lose their life—their vitality merely retreats within, awaiting another season.

“Leafless Greenery”   !!  by definition, perhaps not. Yet Nature is an ingenious writer—she occasionally composes poetry that grammar and logic cannot explain. Before me stood a great tree, stripped almost entirely of its foliage. Its bare branches stretched across the pale sky like an intricate charcoal drawing. There were no clusters of leaves to soften its outline, no luxuriant canopy to proclaim vitality. At first sight, it appeared dry, austere and almost lifeless.

Then came the parakeets! ~ though they were in very small numbers – I have exaggerated by extrapolating with some from my own collections editing through Chatgpt !! 

One after another, the rose-ringed parakeets descended upon the tree. Some settled quietly on its highest twigs; some perched in companionable pairs; others shuffled along the branches, searching for a comfortable foothold. A few hovered momentarily with wings outspread before joining the gathering.  Within minutes, the naked tree had turned green! Not through new shoots or tender leaves—but through living, breathing splashes of emerald. The birds seemed to have taken the place of the missing foliage. Their long bluish-green tails hung from the branches like slender leaf stalks, while their curved red beaks provided tiny strokes of contrast.

It was greenery without leaves—an oxymoron created by Nature herself!  The tree, though seemingly barren, was certainly not lifeless. Its innumerable branches offered the birds resting places, safety, visibility and companionship. What appeared empty to the human eye had become a thriving avian assembly hall. Every branch was occupied; every movement added animation; every call contributed to an unseen orchestra.

There is also a gentle lesson here. We often associate beauty only with abundance—trees must be thick with leaves, gardens must overflow with flowers and landscapes must be lush to attract our admiration. Yet a leafless tree can possess a beauty of its own. Its uncovered structure reveals strength, age and character. Every bend in its trunk and every fork in its branches records a story of seasons endured.

And with the arrival of  the parakeets   that starkness becomes splendour. Through this edited photograph I am trying to depict a quiet contrast of our concrete surroundings.  Buildings rise, wires criss-cross the sky and open spaces steadily disappear. Yet birds adapt, gather and reclaim whatever fragments of Nature remain available to them. A single old tree—even one without leaves—can become a sanctuary for scores of winged visitors.

To us, it may merely be a tree awaiting another season. To the parakeets, it is perhaps a meeting place, a resting station and a familiar landmark in their aerial world. For a fleeting while, the birds transformed its barrenness into abundance and its silence into celebration. They did not merely perch upon the tree—they became its foliage.

A leafless tree dressed in living green— “Leafless greenery” may sound like an oxymoron, but at least in imagination it is a  beautiful reality!

Interesting !

Regards – S Sampathkumar

31.8.2026

 

the morning charm !! ~ a Peacock in Triplicane !!!

 

Do you believe in luck ? well, I had some good luck this morning !    – getting up early, seeing our own palms, or image of God, getting up reciting a sloka -  are considered extremely good and auspicious morning practice or belief, then there are superstitions that some fully believe !!

Slightly moving away, have seen posters of donkey with words ‘see me – luck will come to you!’ .. .. in the last paras you will read about one such superstition that a friend fell prey.

Luck means an event or outcome that happens partly by chance and is outside your complete control. Good luck means that the chance event produces a favourable or beneficial result for you.

The readymade examples that come to mind are :  finding money on the road or getting money from an unexpected; going late to railway station, coming to know that the train is delayed and just arriving on the platform;  find a very important document that you had given up after many searches – seeing it  at a very odd place; preparing well for an interview is mainly effort and ability, though meeting the right interviewer or receiving the opportunity may involve luck.

Researchers describe luck in everyday life as an unexpected outcome that is unlikely, outside one’s control, and emotionally important.  Whether it is real may become a bigger debate. From a scientific viewpoint, luck is generally not treated as a mysterious force. It is a way of describing the personal experience of probability and chance—sometimes called “probability taken personally.”

Richard Wiseman’s four principles of luck explain that people can often increase their experience of good fortune through their attitudes and behaviour, rather than simply waiting for fate. 1. Maximise chance opportunities;  2. Listen to lucky hunches (gut feeling); 3. Expect good fortune - Try even when success is uncertain; 4. Turn bad luck into good. Lucky people do not deny misfortune, but they try to manage it constructively.  

Wiseman’s idea is: Create more opportunities, listen thoughtfully to intuition, expect favourable possibilities, and respond to misfortune with resilience. He is  not claiming that people can control every random event. Rather, these principles help people notice more possibilities, act more effectively, and convert some apparently unlucky situations into better outcomes.

Moving away in Chennai and perhaps in many other cities too – it is not uncommon to   see vagabonds/ itinerant vendors moving around selling some items of forest. Have seen some buy so called aphrodisiacs too !! but mostly items are bought for wearing inside talisman that are expected to bring charm and luck and they include – skin of deer, fox skin, hair of fox / horse / elephant; nails of lion / fox / tiger  ..; and horns of animals. 

On that day back in early 1980s – a man with so many parts of indescribable trees – roots, dried leaves and more .. .. and some skins, nails, horns,  body parts of animals – came along.  He came near sat near the mechanic who ran a shop in TP Koil Street and started analyzing him – saying that he is having a turbulent life, a troubled  past and tough times ahead – enough to unsettle / shake the  man to ask what he should do  .. ..   

Then he started reeling out solutions of atonement that will work as sure remedy !  .. .. and .. .. and slowly – opening many of the small packs, he showed a small thing claiming it to have great expiatory properties of warding of ill-luck – can you imagine what ?  - it was touted to be the ‘horn of a wily fox’ ! – never ask whether a fox has horn ? – this man had already fallen into the trap and eventually a deal of Rs.450 was struck – understand that Rs.500 was more than the monthly income of most of people walking around on the road at that particular moment !!

I knew what happened to that man later in life – and that is not part of the story !! – any way we believe in good luck charms and getting up to see a good one is always our wish.  This morning my wife woke me up telling that there is a beautiful visitor – we rushed to our terrace to see this beautiful peacock perched high on the water tank – it remained nonchalant for nearly 20 mins and posed still and as it flew away in a jiffy, could take one neat good photo too. Taken at Vasavi Parthas Apartment complex, Venkatrangam Street, Triplicane, Chennai 600 005

That made my day – more than seeing a Peacock in the morning – for me it is photographing a rare visitor to the concrete jungle of Triplicane !!   luck is what happens by chance; good luck is chance that benefits you.

Good morning Peacock – you made my day !! lucky that you waited long enough posing for some photos  and then gave one chance in  flight too !!

Regards – S Sampathkumar
30.8.2026

Cormorant gets out of water !!

 

Wings of determination!

Neither fully afloat nor yet airborne—the Cormorant lifts itself from the water, wings spread wide, scattering droplets and gathering momentum.

Nature reminds us that every rise begins with effort! Photographed at the precise moment when water, wings and will came together.

Chow chow !! கத்திரிக்கா கத்திரிக்கா குண்டு கத்திரிக்கா

 

கத்திரிக்கா கத்திரிக்கா குண்டு கத்திரிக்கா

 

எந்த கடையில நீ அரிசி வாங்குற

உன் அழகுல என் உசுர வாங்குற

உம்மை எடை அளவு பாக்கணும் பாக்கணும்

உச்சந்தலைக்கு மேல தூக்கணும் தூக்கணும்

 

Most likely you have heard this song from Duet !!  Ever heard of Chayote (Sechium edule) – you have eaten it !! 

Are you a connoisseur of food ! – how good is your culinary skills – can you identify this (popular!) vegetable !! without seeing the photos and reading the post in full with just the clues ? 

here is a photo of what is called as ‘Bangalore Kathirikkai !’ or Chow-chow.  Chow Chow belongs to the squash family.  In Tamil Nadu, we make koottu of most gourds  - with chow-chow, we make vegetable curry, koottu  or a thuvaiyal and call them a delicacy.   

The foundation stone for  glass house of Lalbagh was laid  by  Prince Albert Victor, heir to the Prince of Wales and was called the Albert Victor Conservatory, but now known as the Glass House. The man behind the idea of the Glass House was John Cameron, Superintendent of Lalbagh. Cameron had a background in botany and had trained at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, then the centre of botanical research in the world.  Lalbagh’s first known plant census, done in 1861, recorded 1033 species. In the first six years that he took charge of Lalbagh, Cameron managed to introduce an average of 160 new plants every year, it is believed that Cameron introduced chow-chow and now we know it as Bengaluru Brinjal.

 
Interesting !
 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
29.8.2026